The following report was produced by Ted Mallett, Vice-President & Chief Economist at Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Small business optimism made another upward surge in August - following on the heels of a healthy jump in July. The 1.7 point increase in CFIB's Business Barometer® Index this month puts it at 65.9, just shy of 2013's best reading so far, measured way back in February. So far the summer has shaped up to be considerably better than the spring for business owners.
On a scale between 0 and 100, an index above 50 means owners expecting their business’ performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. One normally sees an index level of between 65 and 70 when the economy is growing at its potential.
Once again, improving outlooks among Ontario business owners has powered the national average, though sentiment is stronger in 7 of the 10 provinces. Saskatchewan businesses are still the most optimistic in the country, despite their Index settling back somewhat. Owners in Newfoundland and Labrador are a close second, followed by those in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia. Although we have noted modest improvements in some of the rest of the provinces, Index levels in the Maritimes, Manitoba and Quebec remain below the 60 mark.
The survey also shows that August has been a pretty good month for business sentiment among business owners engaged in agriculture, manufacturing, retail, professional services and hospitality. Conversely, we are seeing uneven or weak outlooks in the construction and transportation sectors.
This report is available at: http://www.cfib-fcei.ca/english/article/5018-economics-business-barometer.html.